Ford pours £1bn into the drive for greener cars

By RAY MASSEY, Daily Mail

Last updated at 23:09 16 July 2006

Ford is to invest £1billion in producing 'green' cars for the British market.

The company wants to develop ecofriendly engines which will do up to 70 miles to the gallon while slashing their pollution emissions and cutting costs for drivers as oil and petrol prices hit record highs.

Family hatchbacks could be up to 20 per cent cleaner and more fuel efficient while big off-roaders could see emissions and fuel consumption slashed by up to a third.

The £1billion injection gives a welcome boost to a British car industry battered by a series of recent closures and job cuts at Peugeot, Vauxhall, Jaguar and TVR.

It will cover all Ford 'family' vehicles in the UK including Land Rover, Jaguar and even Aston Martin. It will effectively make the UK Ford's global 'green' capital for research.

Ford of Europe boss Lewis Booth will say today that the investment recognises climate change is the biggest challenge facing the car industry.

He will set out plans for a new generation of low-emission Ford Focuses - Britain's biggest-selling family car - with a supergreen petrol engine which will cut pollution by 20 per cent and manage 70mpg.

It will produce under 100g per km of carbon dioxide making it the cleanest conventional car on the road. This would also make it the first mainstream car to go in the lowest current band for road tax - paying nothing at all.